


Vulgar Note

by keitaiijima, shkanonyasutrice



Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:34:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keitaiijima/pseuds/keitaiijima, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shkanonyasutrice/pseuds/shkanonyasutrice
Summary: Toshinori Oda has always been repulsed by his inferior classmates. One particularly bad day he has finally had enough. Angry and frustrated, he finds a new use for his leather-bound notebook and begins plotting imaginary acts of revenge and punishments for all of his classmate’s vulgar crimes.
Relationships: Kanai Izumi/Oda Toshinori, if you squint
Comments: 20
Kudos: 7





	1. I

It was the start of another week. Toshinori had been dropped to school by his chauffeur, and he left the car without so much as a word of thanks. Not many students were around yet- the chauffeur had picked him up earlier than usual because of other obligations (who cared that his mother was in hospital? Old people die all the time! This was clearly just a way of inconveniencing Toshinori).

He quietly made his way to the classroom, holding his violin case in one hand, as he always did. _Maybe, if my classmates are on their best behaviour, I'll treat them to a performance_ , he thought. As he came closer to the classroom, he could hear female voices inside. He furrowed his brows in confusion- he was sure he' would be the first one here. The only one who ever arrived this early was that nerd, Motobuchi. But clearly, a few girls had beat him there. He cautiously entered the classroom, afraid of what he was going to find.  
"Space Warriors, assemble!" A very enthusiastic Mizuho was calling out, standing on top of her desk in their homeroom. It was just her and her two closest friends, Megumi Eto and Kaori Minami, present. Mizuho had called them there early under the pretence of having a very important topic to discuss with them. This important topic had, to Megumi and Kaori's frustration, been a new mission from the God of Light. They were now gathered to fight against Mutated Killer Space Amphibians. When Toshinori had reached the door and saw the three weirdest girls in the class together, he felt the urge to turn around and walk out again. Of course, he couldn't tolerate any of his classmates, but he found these girls' shameless display of weird behaviour to be especially repulsive.  
"Mizuho... I can't fight Space Amphibians today. I promised to help my mom after school..." Megumi nervously tried to get out of this obligation. Mizuho was either not hearing her; or pretending not to.  
"Warrior Prexia Dikianne Mizuho is here and reporting to duty! The mission will begin at 3 PM exact-" she stopped mid-sentence, finally noticing the girls were no longer alone. Mizuho gasped, her eyes widening dramatically. Megumi and Kaori, who had been facing her, both turned their heads in order to see what had shocked her so bad.  
"It's one of them! _It's ONE OF THEM_! _"_ Mizuho cried out. Picking up her pencil case, she held it over her head. "Don't take another step, creature!"

Mizuho, the weirdest one of them all, was now threatening him, holding up a pencil case. Is she having some sort of episode? _Well, father did always say if you see a crazy person raving in the streets, just leave them be_ , he thought. Barely sparing them a glance, he walked towards his seat. Megumi and Kaori glanced at each other. Sometimes, Mizuho got very invested in her fantasy world. They tended to go along with her, but now, they worried slightly she would take it too far.  
"S-So..." Kaori said, quietly. "Did anyone download Junya's new albu-"  
It is not retreating!" Mizuho said loudly, her eyes still wide, as she stared at the back of Toshinori's head. "It shows no sign of fear! They have evolved!" Without warning (Megumi barely had time to cry out "Mizuho, no!"), Mizuho threw the pencil case at Toshinori. It was empty and rather soft, but when it hit his neck, it still left out a sharp "thud" noise before landing onto the floor. Toshinori had just sat down his violin case, and he had tried to mentally tune out those vulgar girls, but his attempts to ignore them came to a quick end when he felt something hit the back of his neck. Granted, it was soft and did not hurt, but that didn't stop the rage from building up inside him. _Do these bitches know who I am? How DARE they?!_ he thought. He gritted his teeth, wanting to berate them so hard that they would spend the rest of the day crying, but then his father's words recurred to him: _Toshinori... the world is full of vulgar people. We are elegant and classy people. But, if we let the world know what we truly think of them, they'll consider us vulgar_. He bit his tongue, and in his own form of revenge, picked up the pencil case, and opened up his bag.

Toshinori glanced over at Mizuho, trying to hide his glee. Good luck explaining to Hayashida why you have no pens or pencils today. Just as he was placing the pencil case in his bag, he paused. A little black notebook was poking out amongst his other notebooks. He forgot he had bought it the other day- it was leather-bound and rather nice... too nice for boring, irrelevant schoolwork. He did, however, find a new purpose for it. He opened Mizuho's pencil case, pulled out a pen, and wrote **Vulgar Note** on the first page, before turning the page, unable to hide his joy. Finally, a way for me to punish my classmates without ruining my elegant reputation!

"The evil... Has NOT been defeated!" Mizuho cried out in despair from the back of the classroom. Kaori sighed. She was relieved Toshinori seemed unbothered by the sneak-attack. He was always so quiet, and she hoped he knew this was not personal; Mizuho was just a little spaced out. She exchanged another glance with Megumi, who was nervously looking at the boy at the front of the classroom too.  
"Maybe... Maybe you two can take a break from defeating evil until after class, Mizuho?" Megumi suggested, as Mizuho just shook her head, too devastated that her powers had failed her to even speak.  
Out of the corner of his eye, Toshinori could see that the girls were still talking. He did not hear what they were saying, but he could only assume that they were further plotting further ways to annoy him for the day. But, he found that he was no longer bothered. He had a new way to vent his frustrations. Opening the second page, he began to scribble furiously.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY ONE** :  
Mizuho Inada, Megumi Eto, Kaori Minami

**CRIME** : Inada assaulted me with physical items. Eto and Minami enabled delinquent behaviour. Complete disrespect for better members of society.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**INADA:** The girl is completely hopeless. The only treatment for her would be a lobotomy. A life of Inada being quiet... not acting as if we're all a part of some vulgar space opera.... perhaps everyone's lives would become more peaceful. Possible medal of honour in my future?

**MINAMI:** Yes, she may not have been the assailant, but she is an enabler. Enablers do not deserve happiness or joy! The fitting punishment would be for her to meet her vulgar idol, Junya, where he would tell her that she finds her acne-coated face and stinky breath utterly vulgar. Highly unlikely she would emotionally recover from such an event.

**ETO** : Also an enabler. Frankly, I don't know the girl too well. Shoving her off a pier would probably be the most beneficial course of action. No one would be aware of her disappearance. Unsure if Inada and Minami are even fully aware of her existence.  
  


Closing the journal, he sighed deeply. That felt very therapeutic. Glancing over at the girls once more, he envisioned the punishments he saw fit to them, and smiled to himself. _Someday, girls, someday._

Just as Kaori and Megumi were working on lifting Mizuho's spirits, promising her the whole warrior team would assemble later for an act of a total attack on the amphibians in the school yard after hours, a sound of deep voices and loud laughter could be heard outside the classroom doors. Once the door opened, the group of the class 3-B jocks entered. Kazushi Niida, Tatsumichi Oki, Tadakatsu Hatagami and... Yoji Kuramoto. Yoji was technically not a jock himself, but as he was friends with the others, he was given the title by pure luck. They were quite loud, too loud for Toshinori's liking. The exception was Tadakatsu, who looked more sullen and annoyed, potentially at Kazushi who seemed in the middle of some sort of story of his sexual escapades. Completely fabricated, no doubt.  
"No, I swear. She lifted her skirt and showed me everything," Kazushi grinned, his crocked teeth showing, as he balanced a football on his index finger, spinning it around. Not including Yoji, they all had their gym bags with them, presumably for practice after school. Yoji seemed to be eating Kazushi's story up; it was uncertain whether he actually believed it, or if he was just eager to hear some smut, real or not.  
"And she was wearing _nothing_ underneath?" he asked, shaking his head. "That's crazy, man." 

Toshinori had been about to close his notebook when this noise erupted in the classroom. He had turned towards the door, grimacing. None of the jocks had a single braincell to share between them. All they cared about was how many girls they could bag, which was evident through Kazushi's vulgar discussion about a girl supposedly exposing herself to him. He hesitantly held the pen over the next page, but then set it down. No _. Have class, Toshinori_. _Only those who purposefully wrong you will have their name written in the Vulgar Note._ With that, he focused on his breathing, and tried to drown out the vulgar noise emerging from those boys' mouths. Despite his attempts to remain peaceful, he found himself enraged by the boys. _Oh, look at me. I can toss a football around. I'm every girl's dream! How vulgar_. He only let those thoughts emerge in his head; to the boys, he was just their incredibly talented violin-playing rich classmate, and that was just fine.

"... - Completely smooth! No hair at _all_!" Kazushi finished his story, and Yoji shook his head in amazement.  
"You're a lucky bastard. Always at the right place, at the right time!" he sighed, finding himself jealous of Kazushi's potentially-but-probably-not real story about girls throwing themselves at him on his way to buy groceries. Even Tadakatsu had listened, half-interested, in the story, despite pretending not to be. Toshinori merely scowled as he had heard more and more of Kazushi's vulgar story. He urged himself not to look at the boys, out of concern that he would not be able to hide how disgusted he was with their crude talk. _Are we in a place of learning or in a brothel?_ he asked himself.

Tatsumichi however, was going through his bag, desperately searching for something. Turning the bag upside down, a bunch of papirs, pens, bouncing balls, marbles and what seemed to be a live, fuzzy creature running away, all fell out of it.  
"My homework!" he exclaimed, sighing. "Uh... I totally forgot it! Katsu..." He looked at his friend with a hopeful expression, as Tadakatsu sighed and took his own homework out, pushing it towards Tatsumichi's desk to let him copy it.  
"You need to get better at organising,” he commented, though with a slight smile. "I don't get how you remember to bring marbles, _for what?,_ and not the essential?"  
Toshinori had completely missed the conversation about Tatsumichi's homework, and didn't see what had scattered on the floor. Instead, he focused all his energy into trying to drown out their vulgar conversations. Tatsumichi smiled apologetically to Tadakatsu, as Kazushi suddenly threw the football he had been playing with towards him.  
"Tatsu! Think fast!" he laughed, and Tatsumichi easily caught it, his reflexes on point.  
"Kazushi, stop. We need to get this done before Mr Hayashida comes," Tadakatsu sighed, slgihtly annoyed, as Kazushi kept throwing the ball around. He caught it himself, keeping it still on the desk as he helped Tatsumichi with the math homework he had forgotten.  
"You're so damn lame," Kazushi complained. "At least give it back to me, dude."  
Without looking, Tadakatsu grunted and threw the ball towards Kazushi and Yoji. It was heading in Yoji's direction, and the boy awkwardly tried to catch it. Unlike the others, his reflexes were not the best, and the only balls he handled on a regular basis belonged to himself. Instead of successfully catching it, he pushed the football away from himself at full force, so it would not hit him in the face. The ball changed direction and came flying at Toshinori, hitting the right side of his face forcefully.

"Ah, shit," Yoji mumbled. Toshinori had been occupied by continuing to judge the jocks (but made the kind decision not to write them in his Vulgar Note), as something came flying towards his face. The pain exploded instantly, and he could already feel his nose begin to throb. A football bounced away instantly, and he glared at the jocks. After the incident with Mizuho and her crew, he thought he had gotten his anger under control perfectly, but after this stunt, it was difficult to control. He got up from his seat, preparing to shame Yoji for what he had done.  
"You need to apologize this insta-" he began, but as he stood up, he immediately slipped and fell on his behind. He looked around in bewilderment. _Marbles?!_ he thought, stunned _. Where the fuck did marbles come from?!_ He immediately scrambled to his feet, feeling his cheeks turn red at his not-so-classy display.  
"Who is responsible for this?!"  
"My marbles!" Tatsumichi exclaimed, unhappily. He really had not expected someone to slip on them. If he had knew they were dangerous, he might have picked them up sooner. Kazushi and Yoji had both burst into fits of laughter when Toshinori fell.  
"It looked like a weird kind of muppet dancing on strings," Yoji cried, wiping away tears of laughter. Even Tadakatsu had an almost amused expression, as Tatsumichi got down on his knees, beginning to pick up the marbles while mumbling apologies.  
"Do you wanna keep one, dude? As... A peace offering?" he asked, stretching his hand out for Oda to take the shiniest marble of all. It might not be much, but it was something Tatsumichi himself would have really appreciated.

Toshinori glared at Yoji's cackling. However, his main source of anger was directed at Tatsumichi. While he may not be as vindictive or sexually perverted as the rest of his crew, he was utterly moronic. Toshinori was convinced he had seen bricks that were smarter than him. _Why... would... you... bring... MARBLES... into.... school...?_ he thought, feeling his hatred for the boy grow. However, his rage only grew when Tatsumichi offered him a marble, one of the many responsible for his humiliation. Without a second thought, he batted it away.  
"Absolutely not! I never want to see those horrible things again!" he sneered, and then realized that wasn't very classy. "I mean... no thank you. If you'll excuse me, I have some work to do." He got back into his seat, opening up his notebook once more. Any mercy he had previously shown the boys was now gone. It was time to get to work. Tadakatsu frowned a little at the slight change in Toshinori's expression. The sneer he revealed did not sit right with him.  
"He tried to make it up to you, you know," he commented dryly, not realizing what the big deal was. None of the classmates understood just _how_ proud Toshinori truly was.  
"I am sorry, Oda! I really am! " Tatsumichi chimed in, but it was drowned out by the sounds of Kazushi and Yoji snickering. Tatsumichi collected all his marbles, only slipping on them twice in the process, and poured them back into his school bag. Kazushi leaned his cheek on his hand, amused.  
"Maybe you should go to the back of the classroom and give Inada some of those marbles? I heard she's lost all of hers, too," he joked, as he and Yoji burst into another fit of laughter.

Toshinori found that he couldn't give less of a shit about how sorry Tatsumichi was. It sounded like the boys had already decided to focus on Mizuho and her crew instead, which was just fine by him. It gave him time to work on his highly important project. He opened up the next blank page in his Vulgar Note.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY TWO** :  
Tatsumichi Oki, Yoji Kuramoto, Kazushi Niida, Tadakatsu Hatagami

**CRIME:** Hatagami threw a ball at my face. I believe he was aiming for Niida and Kuramoto, but their incompetence resulted in my assault. Slipped on marbles left out by Oki. All are guilty of crimes.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**OKI:** A confiscation of his bag. Clearly, he is using his bag for purposes other than storing schoolwork- he is storing everything his childlike mind finds amusing or enjoyable. For his life to be miserable, he must be treated like a child: take away his toys.

**KURAMOTO:** One hundred laps of the schoolyard. His vulgar "jock" position is just honorary, after all, but it attracts the attention of girls nonetheless. How handsome would he look on his fourth lap, clearly unfit and ready to faint? I'm sure the ladies would swoon.

**NIIDA:** Chastity belt. The only girls capable of unlocking it would be Inada, Eto, or Minami. Classmates should thank me for this one, especially the girls.

**HATAGAMI:** A ball to his face. Let's see how much he likes it then, hm? Perhaps it should be some heavy leather ball. Any damage done to his face would surely improve it.

With a sigh, he slammed the book shut, and glared over at the dumb jocks once more. Oh, if only they knew the way that he could make their lives living hell.


	2. II

The window next to Toshinori’s seat was cracked open ever so slightly. The intention was no doubt to let in some fresh morning air, but instead, it had the opposite effect. Small clouds of smoke begun making their way inside, making Toshinori aware of sudden hushed voices outside. He found that his peace had not been long-lived. He was overwhelmed by the incoming scent of smoke- again, another example of inappropriate behaviour at this hour of the morning. First Mizuho's delusional daydreams, then Kazushi's sexcapades, and now this. All of this served as a reminder of how vulgar his class was at any hour of the morning. The delinquent girls, Mitsuko Souma, Hirono Shimizu and Yoshimi Yahagi, were gathered outside. As the classroom faced the back of the school, the more vulgar members of the class sometimes went there to smoke, like in this case. Yoshimi was the one doing most of the hushed chattering, her high-pitched voice revealing her annoyance. It felt as though her shrieking voice was assaulting Toshinori’s ears. He could not see them, but assumed that her other two delinquent, whore chums were standing with her. He had no idea what they were talking about- prostitution plans later, most likely.  
"I just _know_ Yo-chan was the one laughing inside right now! I recognise his stupid hyena laugh anywhere!" she complained. "How can he laugh after the fight we had yesterday? He should be like... Totally in tears! Too heartbroken to even leave his bed!" she huffed. If Toshinori could have seen the girl’s faces, they would reveal Hirono looking pretty amused, whilst Mitsuko had a slight frown on her face, which might pass as a look of concern, but in reality was an expresion of _What makes you think I give a fuck about this?.  
_  
Like Mitsuko, Toshinori could not care less; all that he wanted was to stop hearing Yoshimi's annoying voice and stop smelling that vulgar smoke. He got up, examining the floor first for any marbles, and then approached the window, ready to slam it shut. Hirono let out almost a shriek as Toshinoris face appeared behind the glass. As frogs were one of her few irrational fears, she never really got used to the boy's face.   
"Oh. Fuck," she groaned, putting a hand to her heart. "That thing almost gave me a heart attack! Imagine how fucking embarassing. Death by something so ugly!" she laughed, causing Yoshimi to snicker as well. Mitsuko did not laugh. Instead, she looked up at Toshinori with a small smile, though her eyes remained distant.   
"Yes? Do you want anything?” she asked, her tone sugary sweet, not matching her look in her eyes nor the annoyance she felt as she had to look at his ugly face.  
Upon hearing Hirono's insult, Toshinori resisted the urge to scowl. _Ugly?_ She had some nerve insulting someone vastly superior to her in every way. But, he didn't let that show. He wouldn't slip up again like he did with those stupid jocks. Instead, he faced the head whore calmly.  
"Could you please go smoke and discuss your business elsewhere? You're annoying..." he paused, not wanting to seem rude, and glanced around the classroom, "...Eto. She looks rather upset right now."  
In truth, Megumi did not look all too pleased, but it had more to do with whatever her weird group was discussing now. Still, he assumed the excuse would work. He faced the three trashy girls, hoping that they would take that as their cue to, in slightly cruder terms, _piss off_.

Hirono chuckled.   
"You think we give a shit what prissy pants Eto thinks? Go be a crybaby somewhere else! Fuck off!" she shushed him. Yoshimi forced a giggle, though not as comfortable starting an argument as Hirono was. Mitsuko howwever, kept looking at him with the same sweet smile.  
" Right... We wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable. Sorry about that. I guess one of us really have to go, dont we?" she stated vaguely, looking Toshinori up and down (not that there was a lot to look at). If she could reveal her true feelings about the situation, she would yell at him, ask him who the fuck he thinks he is, and to take his ugly, scrawny ass somewhere else. But Mitsuko had the fallen angel smile as if glued on her lips, well aware no man could remain angry once she looked at him like that. Toshinori was disappointed, but unsurprised, to hear the reactions of the three girls upon asking them (politely!) to move elsewhere. Hirono's crude insults were no surprise, and Yoshimi's high-pitched giggling grated him. However, it was Mitsuko that threw him off the most. She was not crude like her two companions, but rather, presented herself in a calm manner. However... there was no fooling him. He knew a whore when he saw one, and all three of them fit the bill- especially Mitsuko. What was her plan? To seduce him with her large breasts so that he would leave them smoke in peace? As if he would let that happen! Instead, he faced the three of them down.

"I think it would be beneficial if the three of you left the area. Be considerate of your classmates, won't you?" he said, still trying to sound polite. "Look at how much you're upsetting them." He pointed back, but the only one who really seemed to be paying attention was Kazushi, who was staring at Mitsuko with a glazed expression. Yoshimi got onto her tippy goes to get a better view of the classroom. Looking past Kazushi, her eyes landed on Yoji, and she squinted.   
"I _knew_ it was Yo-chan laughing before! Hey! Oda, can you tell Yo-chan from me to totally shove one of his friends' fist up his -"  
"-Lets go, Yoshi," Mitsuko calmly interrupted the fuming girl, as the jocks were now mocking an embarrassed Yoji for his girlfriend's nickname.  
" We don’t want Mr Hayashida to see us skip first period anyway, " she added, putting out her cigarette right by Toshinori's right thumb on the window still, her eyes meeting his coldly. It was like a quiet warning, not to let him think he had any real power over them. _That fucking arrogant daddy's boy_ , she thought.  
It took every bit of Toshinori's willpower not to snap at Yoshimi and her annoying voice. God, did she have any sense of decorum? His annoyance at the three girls was alternating quickly; one minute it was Hirono annoying him the most, next it was Yoshimi, but now... Mitsuko. He flinched back as Mitsuko snubbed out her cigarette right near his thumb. He had not missed the look she had given him- was she threatening him? _Him?_ Did she not know that he could sue her for everything she was worth (although it could not possibly be that much for a floozy)?  
 _That's it! My classmates are setting a new record today in how quickly they can piss me off!_ he thought and stormed over to his desk, opening up his notebook once more. The faces of those three witches revolved around in his mind. How dare a bunch of cheap whores think they were better than him!

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY THREE:**  
Hirono Shimizu, Mitsuko Souma, Yoshimi Yahagi

**CRIME:** Complete disrespect for superiors (me).

**PUNISHMENT:**

**SHIMIZU:** For someone as low in morals and class as she is, she deserves to be pushed into a well. If we had a bar for the standard of class and elegance, Shimizu would be below ground level. It's only fitting.

**SOUMA:** Recruit her into becoming our new maid. Read: maid, not prostitute. Let's see how she enjoys a life of cleaning up after her superiors instead of fornicating with them in the hopes of obtaining a... blegh, Sugar Daddy. Disgusting. But yes! No more manipulative tactics for this witch! She will finally learn her place in society.

**YAHAGI:** I will pay Kuramoto a large sum of money to break up with her so no one will ever have to hear that annoying "Yoooo-channnnn!!!" ever again. Then, preferably, someone will duct-tape her mouth shut for the rest of her life, so no one will even have to hear her annoying voice again.

_Good. They won't know what hit them,_ he thought, already feeling himself calm down. Nothing pleased him more than the prospect of those girls learning their place.

***

The next time the door to their classroom opened, a far more soft-spoken pair entered the classroom. Yoshio Akamatsu and Yuichiro Takiguchi came in together, both playing on their own Gameboy as they spoke quietly to the other. Yuichiro lifted his eyes to wave to his old friend Tadakatsu, but quickly avoided the eyes of the other jocks. Not to mention he would not dare to even look in the direction of the girls at the back of the room, as even the strangest girls seemed to intimidate him. Yoshio was simply too distracted to notice much of his surroundings, his large body walking straight into Toshinori's desk.  
"Oh," he exclaimed, looking up nervously. "S-Sorry, Oda. Are you okay?" Yoshio looked rather embarrassed, as he usually enjoyed not drawing much attention to himself, but at the same time, felt like he had to apologize for bumping into Toshinori like that. Yuichiro stopped next to him, awkwardly looking from one of the boys to the other. Toshinori was still recovering from his horrible encounter with Mitsuko’s gang, and had mentally groaned when he heard more classmates enter the classroom. _Please, just leave me be,_ he thought, hoping that this morning had already reached its worst capacity. But, alas, this class would always find ways to outdo itself. The biggest oaf in the class walked straight into his table, sending everything on the desk flying off, including the Vulgar Note. Toshinori knelt down and immediately grabbed it, slamming it shut, out of fear that his classmates may have seen his plans detailed in his notebook. He glared up at Yoshio, but quickly composed himself.

“Please watch where you’re going next time, hm?” he said, trying to keep his tone calm and composed. _Drop dead, fatass_ , he thought.  
"Y-Yeah. Sorry. I was about to battle a new Pokemon trainer," Yoshio explained, still clearly a bit embarrassed by what had happened. Yuichiro, shy but wanting to save the situation, reached out his own Gameboy.  
"Do you want to try catching one for me, Oda? Y-You... You'll see how fun it is! Maybe you'll understand why Akamatsu got so distracted," he suggested. "Do you play any games...?"  
 _Pokemon? That ridiculous child’s game?,_ he thought. Frankly, he would rather die than try out a stupid little video game, but if he said no, he could come across like one of those vulgar delinquents— Sasagawa or Kuronaga. He knew that establishing future connections with people was vital for any future favours. Even if these boys will never provide anything useful for me, it may be handy to have them on my side, he thought.  
“No, I don’t play games. But, you can.... show me your game, if you wish,” he said, forcing a smile. This felt like hell.  
"Oh, really?" Yuichiro asked, his eyes lighting up. Despite being a timid boy, he really did enjoy making new friends. It just happened to not come too easy for an Otaku like himself. The fact that Toshinori seemed so interested, made him very happy.   
"S-So... This is my team. I have Blastoise, and..." He began showing Toshinori his whole Pokemon team, getting more excited and less nervous as he spoke.  
“Oh, a tortoise? Fascinating,” Toshinori said, trying to sound intrigued. In reality, he was horrified by just how idiotic his classmates’ hobbies were. Tortoises with cannons on their backs? This is what constituted as a hobby for his classmate? One thing that brought him genuine pleasure was knowing that if this was what entertained his classmates, and not high art, he knew he would go much further in life than any of these dimwits. So, for now, he was happy to listen to just how stupid his classmates were.  
"Blastoise is okay. Snorlax is even better," Yoshio commented from behind his device, as Yuichiro shook his head. Toshinori continued to disinterestedly pretend to pay attention to Yoshio and Yuichiro's explanations on what these ugly little pixels were useful for. However, his attention was drawn away when he heard someone clear their throat behind them.

Kyoichi Motobuchi had quietly snuck up on the group standing around Toshinori's desk. Yuichiro gave him a nervous smile, and Yoshio backed away a little. Whilst not hostile, Kyoichi was not exactly known for being _friendly_ either. He could be a little direct and intimidating when he spoke. And his eyes behind his glasses revealed just what a waste of time he thought these games were; even before class had started. He raised a brow slightly as he saw Toshinori being introduced to Yuichiro's Pokemon squad.  
"Fascinating, Oda," he commented, taking a seat next to him as he usually would. "I had no idea you were a... Pokemon enthusiast. I guess what you see is not always what you get," he said dryly, getting out his notebook and pen. "I thought you were too busy for these childish games..."  
Yuichiro blushed a little as the class President referred to his interest as something childish. He glanced at Yoshio, who had still barely looked up from his own game.  
"M-Maybe we should take a seat too..." he suggested quietly. Kyoichi certainly showed no interest in conversing with these geeks. Toshinori was quite humiliated by how Kyoichi’s voice was full of judgement. _Oh, so father says I can't mouth off against my classmates, but this four-eyed nerd can? Hmph!  
_ However, he did not let his views on Kyoichi be known. He had watched as the other two boys suddenly tensed up at the sight of their class leader. Toshinori did not know what to do; he didn't care for anyone in this situation. However, he knew that his father and Kyoichi’s father were in the same social circles, and if word got to his father that he was moving in the same circles as a bunch of nerds...  
"Motobuchi, I was merely showing an interest in my classmates' activities. Isn't it your job as class leader to encourage... friendships amongst each other?" he said, trying to sound sweet and innocuous.

Kyoichi looked at him, almost looking a little puzzled in this explanation. Despite being Class President, he was never too interested in the class unity or... friendships. He attented to school to learn. He volunteered to be President for the leadership experience and for something to add on his resume. Anything to do with the "community" of the class, he left to the peppy Class Representative, Yukie Utsumi. Still, he nodded slowly as Toshinori pointed out this as one of his responsibilities.  
"Why, yes. I suppose it is," he agreed. "I certainly didn't intend to imply I don't see the value in that."   
As Kyoichi finished arranging everything necessary for a morning class out on his desk (two different notebooks, two pens, one pencil, one eraser, one pencil sharpener...), he glanced over at Toshinori's side, noting the leather-bound notebook.  
"What is this?" he asked, pointing to it. "It looks quite high-quality. Is it for academic purposes?"

Toshinori had been relieved that Kyoichi seemed to stop caring about the fact that he was briefly spending time with Yuichiro and Yoshio. Still, he felt tense about the situation. That would be the last time he ever mingled with people below his class- so much for being nice ever achieving anything. Just as he was beginning to relax, he tensed up again as Kyoichi took interest in the Vulgar Note. _He cannot see it. He'll surely report me to Hayashida if he knows I'm planning the downfall of a number of my vulgar classmates_ , he thought, and quickly snatched it away.  
"Apologies, Motobuchi. It's a personal project. Surely you understand?"  
Kyoichi looked at him with mild surprised, but only nodded again.   
"A personal project? How interesting. Is it anything you will reveal later?" he asked, curious as to what Toshinori could be working on that was so secretive. "I would very much like to see if it is of some academic interest. Though, if it's more.... _violin notes_ -,” the way he said this made it clear he was totally uninterested in Toshinori's music. "- Then I am happy to let you keep working on it alone," he said with an almost amused chuckle.

Toshinori was unable to hide his disdain at Kyoichi's clear mockery of his passion for the violin. You wish you had an ounce of my creative potential, you low-life nerd, he thought, but aloud, forced a laugh. "Thank you for your input, Motobuchi," he said. "You'll see it in time."  
 _Oh... you'll see._

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY FOUR:**  
Yoshio Akamatsu, Yuichiro Takiguchi, Kyoichi Motobuchi.

**CRIME:** Humiliation on three separate accounts.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**YOSHIO** : Lock him in a room with Sasagawa for a week. I'm sure that the psychological effects following this would suffice more than any other punishment available.

**YUICHIRO:** Break his Gameboy. Losing his precious cannon tortoise would hurt him more than any physical wounds ever could.

**KYOICHI:** Violin lessons. With me. Violinists are lesser than academics? Oh, he'll eat his words when I reduce him to tears due to his sloppy composure and poor timing.

_My, this list is getting long. Let's pray this is the end of my classmates annoying me for the day_ , he thought, closing the book and embracing fantasies of living out what he had written in his notebook.


	3. III

As most of their remaining classmates joined them in the classroom (though some later than others, and some seemed to be skipping first period all together), the usual homeroom class proceeded uneventfully, with only some of their louder and more annoying classmates grinding on Toshinori with their meaningless chatter. The following lesson was in was Classical Japanese Literature. The only memorable thing was that their teacher had Noriko Nakagawa read out loud a poem she handed in last week; Toshinori noted it was absolutely dreadful and a complete waste of his time.  
As their first break approached, Kyoichi was quick to excuse himself and run to the library to pick up a book he had borrowed. Not that Toshinori needed his excuse; he much preferred his own solidary company. Figuring he might get a drink, Toshinori headed for the cafeteria. He got in line at the service station, pondering which drink to choose. In front of him, two of his simpler classmates were laughing softly, undoubtedly at the most idiotic joke that only the two of them would find amusing. It was the most committed Class Couple, Sakura Ogawa and Kazuhiko Kuramoto. Sakura had her hand in his, beaming up at him, as he picked out a chocolate muffin.  
"It's my treat," Kazuhiko insisted with a smile, poking her nose gently. "I owe you for finishing the chocolates at the movies the last time."  
Sakura shook her head, also with a soft smile on her face. "No. You got those too! You don't owe me anything," she replied, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Well, I won't say no, if you insist," she added after some thought, and Kazuhiko laughed again.

Toshinori scowled upon seeing the happy couple. Anyone with any sense of decorum would know that behaving in such an overly-affectionate way in public was a sign of pure trashiness. And, aside from that, he was hungry, and they were holding up the time it would have taken him to eat something by now.  
"Excuse me...? Are you almost ready? There's quite a large queue behind, you know," he said, trying to sound gentle and polite. _Move already, you wastes of space_ , he thought.  
Sakura turned her head, giving Toshinori an apologetic smile. In reality, was the only one waiting in line behind them, but Toshinori considered himself way too important to wait too long.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. It won't be another minute!" she said, as Kazuhiko now held up both a chocolate and blueberry muffin.  
"Which one, Saku? Pick one quickly, so we don't keep holding up the line!" he said, pretending to rush her, making her giggle again at how silly he was being.   
She put a hand to her chin, looking at both options. "This pressure! Kazu, I don't know... You pick!" she said, sighing. Kazuhiko shook his head.  
"No, it's your turn to pick."  
This started an exchange of " _No, you"_ back and forth, seemingly going nowhere.

_Ugh, this is ridiculous._ Toshinori knew he should know better than being petty, but at this rate, he would be graduating from junior high before these two picked out a goddamn muffin. So, desperate times called for desperate measures. He approached them once more, mustering up a sad look.  
"Please... may I go ahead? I have diabetes, and if I don't reach my daily sugar intake, I'll..." he paused, not having a clue what diabetes does, "have a seizure. Please."  
Kazuhiko's eyes widened a little.   
"I had no idea!" he said, now feeling terrible. Sakura looked at him with concern too. "Do you need to sit down, Oda?" she asked, a hand on her heart as she observed him.   
Kazuhiko quickly paid for both muffins, handing Toshinori the blueberry one. "Here! To get your blood sugar up or something," he said with a friendly smile. "And sorry for taking so long. Let us know if you need help or anything...!"  
As soon as the couple began to dote over him, Toshinori instantly regretted his decision to choose such an extreme excuse. Now, he appeared weak in front of his classmates. Humiliating! And, to make matters worse, they got him a blueberry muffin, when he had been eyeing up the chocolate one.

The couple stepped to the side, though not moving too far away, as they kept sending worried glances in Toshinori's direction. The idea that someone would convulse due to their poor decision-making skills, was too much for them to handle.  
Toshinori picked at his muffin uncomfortably, feeling the couple's eyes on him. _God, go away and fuck each other, would you?_ he thought, but obviously couldn not say aloud. He turned to Kazuhiko.  
"Ah... thank you. You can... go now?" he said, unsure of how to tell them to piss off nicely.  
Sakura and Kazuhiko both nodded, though still with kind of worried expressions. Perhaps they were worried he would sue them.  
"Enjoy the muffin, Oda. Take it easy, okay? See you in class," Kazuhiko said, with a slight wave. As they walked off, their discussion soon became trivial again, with Sakura reminding Kazuhiko they had to watch their favourite soap opera while speaking on the phone later in the evening.

Toshinori gave the couple a half-hearted wave, and then immediately opened his Vulgar Note. Granted, the couple had not been as outrightly disrespectful as his other classmates, but oh, their humiliation of him earned them a spot in his notebook.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY FIVE:**   
Sakura Ogawa, Kazuhiko Yamamoto

**CRIME:** Vulgar displays of affection, holding up the line in the cafeteria, forcing me to appear vulnerable and ill. Humiliated me! (Also, bought me a blueberry muffin instead of a chocolate one).

**PUNISHMENT:**

**YAMAMOTO AND OGAWA:** Yes, they are being considered together as they appear to be one entity. I will pay Souma good money to seduce Yamamoto and bring Sakura in to witness the affair. Then, as they are both crying, I'll shove a muffin in each of their faces. That'll teach them for treating me like I'm some sort of immobile baby!

Slamming the book shut, he looked at the muffin with disgust, and ripped off another piece and ate it. Honestly, who prefers blueberry over chocolate?

***

As honestly disappointed as Toshinori was with being stuck with the tragic blueberry muffin, he still found himself a table in the corner of the cafeteria where he could finish it in peace. Or so he thought. Not even a minute passed before his peace and quiet was against interrupted. This time, it was by someone far louder and more vulgar than Sakura and Kazuhiko just before.

"Holy fuck! That fat fuck brought a damn egg salad sandwich t'day. Finally!" Ryuhei Sasagawa called out, as the Kiriyama Family took a seat at a table near Toshinori. Ryuhei had apparently stolen part of Yoshio's lunch already, now eyeing it hungerly. Hiroshi Kuronaga, the only member of their gang of what Toshinori considered an acceptable height, was licking his lips, drooling over it.  
"Finally!" he chimed in, typically copying something his other friends were saying. "Hey, let me have a piece?!"  
Next to Hiroshi, Sho Tsukioka huffed, lighting up a thin cigarette despite them being inside. Not like any of them obeyed most of the school’s rules anyway.   
"Dears, watch out for that. It's _so_ fattening," he sighed dramatically, taking a drag. "You'll end up looking like Akamatsu if you keep eating his trash. And it's not like either of you can afford getting any uglier..."

_Oh god, oh please no,_ was what Toshinori immediately thought when the worst students of the entire class, who were barely better than animals, had loudly announced their presence in the cafeteria. From experience of seeing Yoshio kicked around, and having a "FROGGY!" shouted in his direction, he knew the best way to avoid getting their attention was by tuning them out. _Go away, go away, go away and die_... he thought, trying to keep his eyes focused on his lunch, but he found himself occasionally glancing over at the table filled with vulgar boys.

Ryuhei was laughing loudly at Sho's comment.  
"Pffft! As if any extra weight would make me less fuckin' sexy!" he grinned jokingly, digging into the egg salad sandwich, small pieces of egg flying everywhere as he chewed with his mouth open.  
"So sexy," Sho sighed sarcastically, shaking his head with a tiny smile on his lips. Hiroshi picked up some off the fallen egg pieces from the table, placing them into his own mouth happily, to Sho's horror. Toshinori grimaced as he watched Hiroshi eat food off the floor like an animal. Before he could further contemplate on how he ended up in such a barbaric school, he saw two other members of their gang, Kazuo Kiriyama and Mitsuru Numai, approaching. At last, the monkey clan was complete. Mitsuru greeted the rest of the gang with a simple "Yo," waiting for Kazuo to pick a seat before choosing the one closest to him.  
"We just fixed us a good deal for later," he said in a hushed voice. "Gotta be quick. 3 PM sharp. Ya'll better be ready."  
Ryuhei and Sho nodded, whilst Hiroshi just looked at him with a dumb expression, obviously having no clue what he was talking about. Kazuo remained quiet, looking like he was barely paying attention. Toshinori glanced over at Kazuo, scowling. He hated the boy's tallness, but he would never admit that. Aside from that, he found his lack of emotional portrayal to be disturbing _. Ugh, control your lackeys, you robot,_ he thought as the Kiriyama Family remained as rowdy as ever.

  
"Hiro, we've been fuckin' through this a million times t'day," Mitsuru kept whispering to his friend, who was looking like a big question mark at whatever vulgar schemes the group had planned for later. Ryuhei raised a hand, still talking with his mouth full of egg:   
"Just do what ya always do, man. Lay down 'n play dead. You're definitely more useful like th-" as he went to swallow a piece of the sandwich, something seemed to get lodged in Ryuhei's throat. He began coughing, slamming on his chest desperately to get the food up. Sho watched him with a worried expression, and Mitsuru also frowned.   
"Ya 'kay, dude?" he asked nervously, as Ryuhei kept choking. Hiroshi was flailing his arms dramatically.  
"He's dyin'! This is how he's gonna fuckin' die! I knew he'd die of some sorta murder but not murder by a damn sandwich!" he yelled.  
Toshinori had continued to not draw attention to himself, but couldn't help but become interested as Hiroshi began to scream hysterically about how Ryuhei was dying. _Oh, don't get my hopes up like that_ , he thought.  
Kazuo, observing the situation quietly for a moment, finally stood up. He lifted Ryuhei up by placing his arms around his waist, thrusting his hands against the upper part of his abdomen, using the Heimlich maneuverer technique. The piece of food stuck in Ryuhei's throat was quickly coughed back up, and landed with a soft thud on Toshinori's shoulder.

_Oh my god. Father, I'll never forgive you for not sending me to a private school.  
_ With a shudder, he used a napkin to brush off the piece of food. Then, he took his muffin and started to move to another table. He could feel rage brimming inside him, and if it was not for his attempt to keep up appearances, he would have ripped that entire stupid gang a new one. As he passed their table, though, he could not help but mutter, "Get your goons under control" under his breath to Kazuo.  
Kazuo, who had taken a seat again now that Ryuhei was no longer choking, just looked at Toshinori with a vacant stare. Ryuhei however, had overheard the comment. He kicked his chair to the side, blocking Toshinori's path.  
"Oi, froggy! What the fuck did ya fuckin' say?! Wanna say it a lil louder?!" he yelled, slamming his hands onto the table. He had a small grin on his face, always enjoying the opportunity to start some trouble. Mitsuru, _not_ appreciating Ryuhei taking every opportunity to start some trouble, sighed.  
A part of Toshinori considered trying to diffuse the situation with his fake niceness, but then he remembered the food that had landed on his shoulder moments earlier. Animals didn't deserve Toshinori's decorum.  
"I'm saying you should learn how to chew and swallow food correctly. Perhaps your fellow goons will teach you?" he suggested.  
Sho snickered, amused by the ugly creature trying to insult them. Hiroshi was too dim to be insulted, but it certainly worked on Ryuhei.  
"The fuck did ya say?! Don't talk shit if ya can't back it up!" he yelled out, grabbing Toshinori by his collar and raising him a few inches off the ground. "Fuckin' ugly midget, I'll punch your face in!"

Mitsuru got up too now, putting a hand on Ryuhei's arm.  
"Ryu, chill. We've been over this hundreds of times! B'sides, if ya get detention t'day, we won't be able to do the... Thing, later," he said, eyeing Toshinori as if not wanting to reveal too much of their deviant plans for later. Ryuhei considered this, and slowly lowered Toshinori down, though still holding him by the collar. Toshinori was very relieved that Ryuhei's threats were short-lived. He was disgusted that the vulgar boy thought it was acceptable to threaten him in the first place, but it was over now, thanks to the other goon. However, something he said caught his attention.  
 _Thing?_ Toshinori felt concerned. Kiriyama's group had a way of causing trouble that had, on numerous occasions, tarnished the reputation of the class. It would look terrible if, when he was applying for a prestigious high school, he was associated with a "troublesome" class.  
"What is this 'thing' you're talking about? Should there be cause for concern?" he asked.  
"Just get outta here, Oda," Mitsuru snapped, not wanting Toshinori to challenge Ryuhei further. Or to piss off Mitsuru himself either, by being so nosy. "It ain't any of your fuckin' business. Leave, b'fore we make ya leave!"  
Kazuo finally seemed to focus on the conversation in front of him. In a calm, quiet voice, he spoke up. "Mitsuru is right. It certainly is not any of _your_ concern either way. I doubt you would be interested," he said shortly, his eyes meeting Toshinori's.  
  
Toshinori gritted his teeth at more of these goons showing him disrespect, but he felt a wave of intimidation as Kazuo calmly told him that it was none of his business. As vulgar as he found that entire clan, there was something almost scary about Kazuo, which frustrated Toshinori. He should not find anyone intimidating! He was better than all of them! But, he knew when enough was enough. He stormed off without a word to a table far away from theirs and pulled out the Vulgar Note once more.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY SIX:**  
Kazuo Kiryiama, Hiroshi Kuronaga, Ryuhei Sasagawa, Sho Tsukioka, Mitsuru Numai

**CRIME:** Spat food on me, and then threatened me to protect their hooligan plans.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**Kiriyama:** Find a way to steal all his wealth. Someone who is deemed the leader of such a vulgar group doesn't deserve to be richer than I am. Hmph.

**Kuronaga** : Dropkick him across the football fields. He's small enough for this to succeed. (And, for anyone who happens upon this journal, bear in mind that I AM taller than him, and would be able to pull this off.)

**Sasagawa:** Stuff food down his throat until he chokes. No one would be allowed to save him. He can't chew and swallow correctly? Well, that's his funeral.

**Tsukioka** : Burn off his vulgar pompadour. Given the amount of time he spends styling it, I'm sure that no other loss would hit him quite as hard.

**Numai** : Put him in a room with a television, displaying surveillance footage of his fellow goons off on an adventure. His inability to step in and stop them from getting themselves in trouble, but only watch as it unfolds, would certainly be punishment enough.

He slammed the book shut. He was astounded at himself for not realizing earlier that, when he started this journal, the Kiriyama family would certainly enter the book at some point. It was certainly a surprise that it took until lunch for that to happen.


	4. IV

Toshinori figured a sure way to escape more of his Vulgar classmates were for him to get out of the building for some fresh air. He entered the school yard, which were full of students, but none which he recognised. At least not immediately.  
"Yuki! Hold it like this! Let me help..." Yumiko Kusaka laughed cheerfully. The tall girl was stood behind her best friend, the significantly smaller Yukiko Kitano. Yukiko was holding a bat, the kind used for softball, and was looking quite uncertain.  
"I-I can't, Yumi... I'll miss!" she insisted. The two girls were by the corner of the school yard, alone as usual.  
 _God, please, no._ From dealing with Kazuhiko and Sakura's lovey-doveyness, Toshinori now had to pass by another odd couple. _Are they lesbians? I think so. Ugh. Whatever, just let me pass by in peace._ Keeping his head down, he started to stride away from them, deciding that he had enough of seeing his classmates for one day.

Once Yumiko was satisfied with Yukiko’s grip, she let go of her friend.  
"Perfect! Just like that! When I throw the ball, just hit it as hard as you can!" she encouraged her, a softball in her right hand now. Yukiko still looked a little nervous but bit her bottom lip and nodded.  
"I... I am ready!" she insisted, her grip around the bat tightening. Yukiko laughed.  
"Sports world, watch out! There’s a new jock in town!" she teased, running backwards to put some distance between herself and Yukiko. "Please don't replace me on the tea - Ouch!"  
Toshinori had continued walking, trying to drown out whatever it was they were screaming about. _Vulgar girls_ , he thought. Just as he was thinking that, something suddenly collided with his back, sending him tumbling to the ground for the second time that day. Looking up, he saw that it was the much taller Yumiko that had knocked him over. He glared at her— clearly, she was too enamoured with her friend to pay any attention to her surroundings.  
“A-hem,” he said loudly to alert both girls of his presence.

Yumiko had of course noticed she ran someone over.  
"Wow! Didn't see you there; you're so small!" she laughed happily as she looked down at Toshinori. She reached a hand out to him. "Do you need any help?"  
Yumiko’s words echoed in his ears. _Small... SMALL?!,_ he thought, disbelieving. He glared up at her and got up by himself.  
“I’m perfectly fine, thank you very much,” he said through gritted teeth. “Shouldn’t you two be heading to class now?”  
"We're.... In the same class, Oda?" Yumiko asked with a small chuckle. "Where are you headed, then?" her tone was playful, meaning no harm.  
“You... I.... never mind. I’m going!” he snapped, storming off. He strode into the classroom, and was one of the few there, given that there were still a few more minutes left in the lunch period. But, he had more important priorities than lunch.

 **VULGAR NOTE ENTRY SEVEN** :  
Yukiko Kitano, Yumiko Kusaka

 **CRIME:** Knocking me over, and then making fun of my height.

 **PUNISHMENT:  
Kitano**: Since she has apparently pursued a career in athletics, put her on a professional athletic team, where she will let the team down miserably, and become the laughing stock of the country. The humiliation will kill her.

 **Kusaka:** Locate a much, MUCH taller person (possibly 7ft high), and have that person “bump” into Kusaka. Let’s see how much she likes it when this person makes fun of her height.

Once more, he closed the book and waited for class to begin, feeling calmer after pouring his heart out.

Behind Toshinori, some of the girls who did not quite fit into another group had also gathered. Kayoko Kotohiki was sitting next to Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, and Mayumi Tendo and Yuko Sakaki were sitting one row behind them. They were turned to face each other, clearly busy with their own conversation. Kayoko seemed to be leading it, talking enthusiastically, her cheeks and her hands gesturing as she spoke.  
"I mean... I know it doesn't _mean_ anything. But... Don't you think it means _something_?” she asked vaguely, as Fumiyo looked at her with a thoughtful expression. Mayumi was nodding along a bit more eagerly.  
"Of course it does! He really said he thought you were older than fifteen?" she chimed in, leaning closer from across her own desk.  
Kayoko blushed deeper and an almost proud smile appeared on her face. "Yep! After he finished the tea ceremony class.... He said I seem so mature for my age. So... That means he has thought about me too, doesn't it?"

 _Brainless girls. Do you ever think about anything worthwhile?_ Toshinori opened his Vulgar Note, going back through his listed punishments for his classmates, and felt a sense of calm overtake him. Nearby, 3-B’s newest student, Shogo Kawada, had just entered the room, and briskly made his way to his desk, knocking Toshinori’s desk as he passed. He walked by the giggling girls wordlessly. Toshinori scrambled to close his notebook before anyone could see. _Vulgar oaf!,_ he thought, glaring at Kawada’s back. Mayumi's eyes lingered on Shogo's broad chest as he walked by, and she sighed, clearly impressed. And probably a little turned on, too. _  
_Kayoko nudged her.  
"Mayumii! I'm not done with my story! Please, listen... The _next_ time I saw him, was the...."  
The noise of Kayoko's story was drowned out a little, as Fumiyo was opening a fizzy drink, which clearly had been shaken in her bag. Before she could screw the lid back on properly, it was clear the soda would make a big mess. As if on reflex, Fumiyo pushed the drink away from herself, and it landed on the floor in front of Shogo's desk, in the middle next to Mayumi. The soda made a big splash, soiling Shogo's school uniform. Fumiyo gasped, covering her mouth in horror of her own clumsiness.  
"Kawada... I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to..." she began stammering, as Mayumi was trying not to laugh, and Kayoko sighed, knowing her story about her hot tea instructor would probably never be finished, now. 

Toshinori was usually quite adequate at drowning out his classmates' vulgar discussions, but the noise from behind was enough to cause him to turn around, to see those loser girls squealing because Shogo got his uniform a little wet.  
"It's fine," he said in a low voice. Then, he shrugged off his school jacket, noticed the soda had seeped through to his shirt, and abruptly removed that too.  
 _Are you serious?!_ Toshinori thought. _You are in a school environment, and you're treating it like some kind of strip club! Ugh._  
Mayumi clapped her hands together, practically drooling as Shogo now revealed his muscular chest.  
"Ohh my," she exclaimed, batting her eyelashes dramatically. Kayoko stared too, her mouth hanging a little open, before she remembered she was involved in a serious imaginary relationship, and promptly glanced away, forcing herself to focus on a small ink stain on her desk. Fumiyo had scrambled to her feet, running to grab some paper towels to clean up the mess she made.  
"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she kept repeating, flustered and embarrassed over the situation. "Here... Here..." Barely looking at Shogo, she handed him the towels, bowing her head as she apologized.  
Mayumi was the only one obviously enjoying the sight and sighed dreamingly.  
"Weeell today just got a lot better," she beamed. Shogo gave a slight nod, knowing that his muscular body was attracting a lot of attention, but frankly, he did not care much. He took the paper towels from Fumiyo and began to pat down his body. As he did, he noticed the frog-like boy staring at him with disgust. He rolled his eyes, knowing he was being judged.

And, he was right- he was being judged. Toshinori was judging him for taking his shirt off, and the girls for squealing like a bunch of pigs stuck in mud. He rolled his eyes, unable to hold back his disgust.  
"There a problem, Ota?" Shogo asked, unable to remember his name. Toshinori stared at him in horror. How could he not know my name? How dare he? This male prostitute clearly has no respect for his superiors! Mayumi was still obviously staring at the body, barely noticing anything wrong with the tension in the room.  
"Hm? Who's Ota?" she asked absent-mindedly. Fumiyo, Yuko and Kayoko were more aware of their surroundings, and all sent Toshinori looks of slight concern. His facial expression was hard for them to read, but he did not look too pleased. The last thing the girls wanted, was an altercation of sorts.  
"I... I will see if there's a spare shirt in the lost and found box!" Fumiyo suddenly remembered, as she jumped back on her feet. Mayumi, horrified by the idea that her eye-candy would be taken away, also jumped up.  
"No. Fumiyo! Fumiyo, don't you _dare_!" she yelled after her, and she and Yuko followed her in a half-jog out of the room. Only Kayoko remained, sighing, as she leaned her chin on her hand and gazed out the window. Would she ever get to the important detail of her story, where her tea instructor had asked her if she preferred green tea or black? It was pretty much a proposal, she thought.

Toshinori’s mind was however on something else.  
 _OTA?!_  
Oh, enough was enough. Not only did this stupid transfer student not know his name, his own classmates had forgotten too?! This was unacceptable. Once again, it called for one thing, and one thing only.

 **VULGAR NOTE ENTRY EIGHT:**  
Shogo Kawada, Kayoko Kotohiki, Yuko Sakaki, Mayumi Tendo, Fumiyo Fujiyoshi

 **CRIME:** Vulgar borderline sexual displays right in the middle of class. Then, a clear insubordination of their betters by mispronouncing my name.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**Kawada:** Put him in a zoo. He wants to act like an animal? He will be treated like an animal. I'm sure female visitors would fawn around him in a glass case, shirtless and displaying his natural features for the world to see.

 **Kotohiki:** Throw hot tea in her face. Let's see how much that boy she's always prattling on about likes her then!

 **Sakaki:** Force her to give our graduation speech. Her tendency to stand around quietly and say nothing, as she did in this situation, will surely humiliate her and end in her running off the stage in tears. Heh.

 **Tendo** : Place her in a nunnery. Not only for my benefit, but also for her own. That girl needs to tone down her sexual inhibitions.

 **Fujiyoshi:** Oh, I don't know. Cast her out to sea. I doubt anyone would notice her disappearance until someone needs a nurse. That's all she's good for anyway.

Closing the book once more, he was astounded to see how many pages he had filled. Then again, he knew that this was, after all, a very vulgar class.


	5. V

Takako Chigusa and Hiroki Sugimura had been sitting on the opposite end of the classroom. Takako seemed very preoccupied filing her long, manicured nails, while Hiroki kept glancing in Kayoko's direction. He cleared his throat, as if wanting to say something, but Kayoko just kept looking out the window. Instead, he did succeed in Takako raising her gaze, looking at him with mild anticipation.  
"What, Hiroki?" she asked, putting her nail file down.  
Hiroki quickly turned his head to look at Takako, blushing lightly.  
"Nothing. There's... There's still something spilled on the floor," he commented, thinking of something quickly. Not even Takako knew about his crush, and he currently preferred to keep it like that. Takako simply glanced at the mess, raising her well-defined eyebrow.  
"Not our problem, is it?" she commented dryly. "Maybe Oda or something can clean it up. He's close to it. And he's on cleaning duty this week, right?" she commented just loudly enough for Toshinori to hear.

Toshinori scowled. Just as things couldn't get any worse, two more of his classmates were looking to irritate him. Upon hearing Takako ask him about cleaning duty, he glanced over at them.  
"If you have such a problem with the spillage, why don't you clean it, Chigusa?" he asked. "Or, if you wish, you could get your boyfriend to do your bidding."  
Normally, he would not have been this impatient, but Takako's assumptions that he would clean up a mess that was not his problem was horrifying. He did not clean- he made others clean for him!  
Takako gave Toshinori a quick glance, before shrugging. "It doesn't really bother me. Does it bother you, Hiroki?"

In fact, it did bother Hiroki. He did not like seeing a mess left like this, but he also did not want to seem weird about it. He could not quite understand why Shogo had used all the paper towels to wipe off his hair chest, and then just dropped them down onto the floor, without taking care of the rest. Or why Fumiyo had ran off without cleaning it up, when she was the one responsible. Sighing, Hiroki got to his feet.  
"I'll fix it," he said casually to Takako, going for another supply of the paper towels. Of course, he did also have an ulterior motive. Maybe this could be another one of those rare opportunities where he had the guts to say something to Kayoko; no matter how insignificant. As he began cleaning the floor, he looked up at her; she was still turned away.  
"Kotohiki," he said, clearing his throat again. Kayoko sighed, but did not turn towards him. She imagined what it would be like if _his_ soft yet deep voice said her name like that. Oh, he was so dreamy...

Toshinori had smirked as Hiroki, as predicted, began to do Takako's bidding. However, one problem turned into another; now Hiroki was trying to get the attention of Kayoko. _Oh, one girl isn't enough for you, Macho Man? Building up your harem?  
_ "Sugimura, is that spot nearly clean yet?" Toshinori asked, trying to sound curious and inquisitive _. Please go away, you're giving me a headache with all your 'Kotohiki, Kotohikiiiii!'  
_ "Oh. Yeah. Nearly," Hiroki responded with a calm smile, but clearly distracted. He tried to grab Kayoko's attention one more time. "Kotohiki. About your teacher..." _  
_This was obviously enough to make her look up, a bit startled.  
"My teacher...?" she repeated, surprised that Hiroki had overheard any of the previous conversation. Hiroki shrugged.  
"Don't... Get too excited about it. He doesn't sound all that interested," he remarked. Kayoko gasped slightly, speechless.

Takako watched, almost fascinated by her friend's lack of tact.  
"Hiroki", she said calmly, waving him back. "I think you're good."  
Toshinori pinched the bridge of his nose _. Great, now you are going to set Kotohiki off,_ he thought, looking at her shocked expression. Why do I even have to listen to this vulgar drama? I know just the thing I need to give me a distraction.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY NINE** :  
Hiroki Sugimura, Takako Chigusa

**CRIME** : Starting drama within my vicinity. And, Chigusa referring to me like I'm some kind of cleaner is the highest form of vulgarity.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**Sugimura:** Say no to Chigusa. I'm sure that moron will quickly suffer the consequences of not submitting to a woman for once.

**Chigusa:** Cleaning duty for the rest of her life. How dare she even ask me in the first place to clean? Who does she think I am?

He closed the notebook once more, glaring around at the trio responsible for the drama they were causing. Take it outside, you buffoons, he thought.

With still another good ten minutes to go before the start of their next period, Toshinori hoped the torture from his idiotic classmates were coming to an end. Of course, this would have been too good to be true. The door opened again and the group consisting of the remaining girls of the class _, the neutral girls_ , if you will, entered. First came Yukie Utsumi, speaking passionately about a project or another to Haruka Tanizawa, Izumi Kanai and Yuka Nakagawa. Toshinori could overhead little bits and pieces of the conversation, like "benefit" and "What a great idea!" Immediately following them were Satomi Noda, Noriko Nakagwa and Chisato Matsui. Those three had slightly more serious expressions on their faces, as Satomi went on about an upcoming Japanese writing test and the study group they should form for it.  
Toshinori had raised his head as he heard another large-sounding group enter the room. Of course, the noise following made sense- the largest group in the class had just entered. The girls were considered the nice ones of the class, but much to Toshinori's annoyance, they never shut up.  
“If we tell Yuka it's a chocolate taste meeting, she is sure to show up. She needs it the most after all," Satomi whispered. Yuka spun around.  
"What did you say??" she asked, squinting suspiciously, as the three girls looked slightly nervous, working up an excuse. But before they got that far, Yuka broke out into a big grin. "-Something about chocolate?!"  
  
Yukie had spotted Toshinori by the window at the front of the class, and waved her friends to follow her over, as she approached him. Excitedly placing a hand on her heart, she exclaimed words Toshinori was not used to hearing from any of his classmates:  
"Oda! How lovely to see you! I was just looking for you before."  
Toshinori had once again planned on keeping his head down, but much to his surprise, Yukie had gotten his attention.  
"And why, may I ask, were you looking for me?" he asked, curious. Well, as long as you aren't planning to spit food at me, throw a pencil case at me, knock me over, or humiliate me, I think this should be interesting, he thought. He looked up at the large group, feeling a bit tense. He briefly made eye contact with Izumi, and felt his tension ease up a little. She was one of the rich students, and despite her associations with this group of dumb girls, she struck him as quite classy. But, for now, he glanced away and refocused his attention on the class leader.  
Yukie beamed down at him.  
"Well, I'm putting on a benefit to collect money for the Winter dance! The benefit will have games and performances... I was hoping maybe you would play the violin as one of the numbers!" she suggested happily, looking like she was the one doing him a favour by asking. Izumi chimed in.  
“I told Yukie about the Beethoven rendition you performed at your family's Christmas party last year. I think something like the would be very well received," she commented with a soft smile and a nod.

Toshinori raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised. Given how this day was going, he had assumed that they were going to ask him to do something utterly vulgar. But instead, he was asked to showcase his talents, and on top of that, Kanai seemed to recognize and appreciate his talent.  
"Ah, thank you, Kanai. I appreciate your ability to recognize true talent," he said, and for the first time that day, showed an inkling of a smile. He paused. This was all going a little too well. His barbaric classmates had been giving him trouble all day, and he saw no reason why that would end now. He glanced over all the girls.  
"So... is there any sort of catch?" he asked.  
"What? Catch? Oh, there's no catch!" Yukie replied, but she seemed a little off... Something about her tone was _too_ bright. Suspiciously bright. Yuka also burst out laughing.  
"Yeaaah... I think he'll find out somehow, you know," she pointed out, biting on her cheeks not to laugh again. Satomi gave a short nod.  
"He should know the reality of it, Yukie," she agreed simply. Izumi shifted, looking a little uncomfortable. She gave Toshinori an apologetic look.  
Yukie however, shook her head, not deterred.  
"No, don't be crazy! There is absolutely no downside to this!" she insisted.

Toshinori squinted at the girls. Of course, as predicted, there was no way that they were serious about hearing refined talent— mostly all of the girls surrounding him wouldn’t know talent if it hit them on the head.  
“What’s going on here?” he asked firmly, glaring at each girl individually.  
As he glared at each one, he noticed Noriko flinch and hide behind Haruka’s tall frame. He kept glaring but, as he met Izumi’s gaze, he softened his expression a little.  
Izumi smiled softly back at him, noting he did not seem as suspicious when looking at her.  
"Well... " she began, running a hand through her hair. "It's not... set in stone," she bit her lip, as Yuka burst out laughing again.  
"Yeah, right, Izu! Yukie has already printed the list out... And laminated it! It's pretty set!" she cackled. Yukie sighed, knowing she would have to tell Toshinori the catch.  
"So... You would be performing, and we are all of course looking forward to it! However, the main event of the show would be... Nanahara," she said, with a little smile, as if mentioning his name made it impossible not to.  
"Basically, you would be the warm-up," Haruka clarified with a shrug.  
Whatever Toshinori thought the catch was, he did not predict anything as dire or catastrophic as this. Everything that had happened to him thus far that day had paled in comparison to this.  
 _My beautiful music... would simply be the "warm-up" for Nanahara's vulgar rock? Is this some kind of sick joke?_  
He stared at the girls in silent horror for a simple moment. All the girls were quiet, growing tense in the prolonged silence.  
"There's no chance in hell!" he snapped. He knew if his father heard him speak this way, he would be horrified, but fuck it. "Out! Get out of my sight! All of you! And don't you dare ever insult me like that again!"

The girls all stared at him, quietly for a moment. They were clearly stunned by his outburst; Toshinori was usually so calm and collected, no one had expected this. Haruka became the first one to speak.   
"That is a little excessive. No need to yell at us," she said, crossing her arms. "It's nothing personal; Nanahara's music is generally just more... appealing."  
Izumi and Chisato both looked a little horrified at this description, both clearly worried it would be something that provoked more yelling. Yukie was also desperate to do some damage control.  
"Well, more appealing for... Our age-group! Teenagers. And we need to set a good tone for the benefit. You understand, right?" she asked, uncertainly.   
Izumi, still with an apologetic expression, added:  
"I think... We could discuss the order one more time, right? We could always laminate the new list, too. And... It could be nice to end the show on a classy note?" she suggested.

Toshinori felt his rage build up as Haruka described Nanahara's music as more appealing. What was appealing about a pile of racket and noise? Clearly, this class had trouble embracing the true beauty of classical music. Well, he thought that until Izumi spoke up. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows. He felt his rage subside. He remembered her comments earlier about her enjoying his music, and he felt himself soften. Also, her describing his music as classy showed that she had more refined taste than her vulgar friends.  
"You... would change it?" he asked her. "You would have me as the closing act?"  
Izumi nodded, her smile a little more confident as he seemed to have eased up a little.   
"I think it could be great. The piece you did at Christmas time was so moving," she said. Yuka yawned openly.   
"Yeah, yeah. We don't have to worry about protecting his feelings! We have to worry about people not falling asleep before the benefit is over!" she joked. Yukie bit her lips.   
"I wouldn't have put it quite like that... But..." she said, making it obvious she did not completely disagree with Yuka's statement. Or disagree at all.   
Haruka rolled her eyes. "We don't owe him any explanation about the order," she insisted, still annoyed at how he had snapped and cursed at her friends. "It is what it is. He's a big boy, he can handle it."  
Yuka snickered again. "A BIG boy? Are we looking at the same guy?" she joked.

Toshinori's previous happiness at hearing Izumi acknowledge the beauty of his music was quickly interrupted by her vulgar friends making it apparent that they found his music boring. _Boring! How dare they!_  
"Yuka, Haruka, don't be mean..." Noriko piped up.  
Toshinori whipped his head around, and looked at her, "And what kind of music would you rather hear, Nakagawa?"  
She remained silent and averted his gaze from him. He thought he heard her mumble an apology under his breath, but that was all the confirmation he needed that the only person out of this group that had any interest in hearing his beautiful music over Nanahara's vulgar noise was Izumi.  
"I'm absolutely not going to perform! Let Nanahara handle the stupid concert all on his own, see how well that goes down! None of you know real music!" he snapped, but then paused upon looking at Izumi. "Well, almost none of you." He glared around at the other girls one last time. "Get out of my sight, and don't ever insult me like that again."  
Yukie was about to try to convince him again, but Haruka but a hand on her friend's shoulder.   
"Don't bother, Yukie. It's his loss," she said shortly, not about to feel guilty as Toshinori talked down to them in such a way. Satomi shook her head.   
"No one will grow if they cannot accept constructive criticism," she pointed out flatly. Chisato gave a slight smile.  
"I-I'm not sure pointing out how he puts people to sleep is... Constructive," she whispered. "Even if... Even if it is true."

Haruka sighed. "Let's just go. He's said enough," she said coldly, guiding Yukie away, with the other girls following. Izumi mouthed "I'm sorry" to Toshinori and gave him a small bow, before following her friends. Toshinori scowled at the girls as they left. He could not understand how they were considered the "nice" girls of the class- their attitudes were almost as bad as those as Souma's group. He noticed Izumi mouthing to him, and he gave her a slight nod. At least someone had some decorum. But, that aside, he knew what he had to do. He pulled out his Vulgar Note and opened up the next blank page.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY TEN:**  
Yukie Utsumi, Izumi Kanai, Haruka Tanizawa, Noriko Nakagawa, Yuka Nakagawa, Satomi Noda, Chisato Matsui

**CRIME:** Tried to make me an opening act to Nanahara. Complete disrespect for my beautiful music.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**Utsumi:** Put her in charge of a pack of wild, feral animals. Surely, they'll be no different from her group of friends, except when she tries to boss them around to do her bidding, they'll eat her alive.

**Kanai:** ...Actually, forget this one. Kanai is the one person who appreciates my music. She's a good one.

**Tanizawa:** Someone will tell Utsumi rumours about Tanizawa (that she killed a man or something, which she probably has at one point), and then Utsumi will break off her friendship with Tanizawa. I'm sure nothing will crush her more.

**Nakagawa (wallflower):** Rip up all her poetry. Someone who cannot appreciate classical music cannot appreciate any art at all. Let's see how much she likes someone disrespecting her art.

**Nakagawa (fat):** Duct tape her stupid loudmouth shut. She thinks she can go around mouthing me? She'll learn to respect her betters!

**Noda:** Swap the name on her latest class test with that on Iijima's class test. I'm sure the result she receives will drive her to insanity.

**Matsui:** Stab her in the back with a double-edged blade. Oh, sure, appear all nicey-nice in public, but then trashtalk me as soon as you're walking away? Vulgar bitch!

He slammed the notebook shut, glaring at the backs of the neutral girls.


	6. VI

The classroom was filling up for the final lesson of the day. Toshinori, distracted by the Vulgar Note for a moment, did not notice that a group of three boys had come closer.  
"Hey! What's this?! I'll open it!" he could hear the shrill voice of Keita Iijima, but he just groaned internally, deciding he had already had enough of his classmates at this point. And Keita was a particularly annoying one.  
"That's a bad idea. It could be a bomb," Yutaka Seto pointed out jokingly. Toshinori kept staring down at his desk, covering his note, waiting for the boys to keep walking to the back of the class, where they usually sat to be free to joke around. Keita however, opened whatever he had found, the sound of the lock making a soft "click".  
"Wooooow! It's like a fiddle or something!" he exclaimed, taking Toshinori's violin out of the case he had picked up from next to his desk. "Do you think I can play it?!"   
Yoshitoki laughed as Keita pulled out the violin. He had seen Toshinori play a few times in class (during which he took the time to take a nap), and knew that Keita would be a disaster at playing it.  
"Hey, I think you could be the next... uh, who's a famous violinist?" he said, trailing off as he tried to think. It took Toshinori a moment to register exactly what was going on, but when he looked up and saw one of the stupidest boys in class holding his beloved violin, he only saw red. He leapt up from his seat and stormed towards the boy.  
"Just what do you think you're doing with my violin?! Give that back this instant, or you will be sorry," he sneered, reaching for it _. I know, I know. I'm doing a godawful job of trying to appear as a nice, quiet, refined boy. But... he took my baby._

Yutaka chuckled, thinking Toshinori was probably just joking too, with that exagerrated sneer.   
"Hey, Oda! If we climb on top of each other, maybe we can reach it?" he joked, as they were two of the shortest guys in class. Keita laughed too.  
"Not before I play something, right?! Wait, what's our national anthem? Or... Okay, stop me if you've heard this one!" he grinned, as he held the violin as a guitar and started an attempt of _Mary had a little lamb._ What he ended up with, was a sound not before known to humans, like nails on a chalkboard but way more uncomfortable.  
"Yeah, go Keita! You're the next Bruce Springsteen!" Yoshitoki cheered on, despite the fact that he felt like his ears were about to start bleeding. Frankly, he did not know any famous violinists, and Shuya's constant talk about the American rockstar made him the only person that came to mind. Toshinori looked at the three boys in horror. Of course, all of them had done something terribly offensive- Yutaka for claiming he was short, Yoshitoki for acting as if that vulgar American was a violinist, but Keita... this was one step too far. He was destroying his beautiful violin. He wondered if his violin would ever recover from having to make such vulgar noise. He shoved past Yutaka and Yoshitoki, snatching the violin out of Keita's hands. He held it protectively close to him and glared at the three boys.  
"Don't you ever, ever go anywhere near my violin again, or I will sue you for everything you're worth!" he sneered. Keita burst out laughing at the idea of being sued.  
"Yeah... For 1000 yen and a pack of gum?! You go for it!" he joked, patting Toshinori’s shoulder playfully. Yutaka chuckled too.  
"Don't worry, Keita. I think you sounded pretty good. I couldn't tell much difference between you and him," he winked, obviously joking, but not registering that Toshinori was not in a very playful mood.  
"Yeah, man! You were great," Yoshitoki said, and turned to Toshinori, "Looks like you've got some stiff competition!" The three boys walked away, laughing lightly about Keita's new composition skills.

Toshinori, on the other hand, was still reeling from the horror that he had witnessed his poor violin go through. This only called for one thing. He returned to his desk quickly and pulled out his Vulgar Note once more.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY ELEVEN:**  
Keita Iijima, Yoshitoki Kuninobu, Yutaka Seto

**CRIME:** The most heinous of all: desecrating my violin.

**PUNISHMENT** :

**Iijima:** Rip open his throat and use his vocal chords as violin strings. Gruesome, and certainly not classy, but for his crimes, he deserves no less than death.

**Kuninobu:** Pluck his giant, vulgar bug-eyes out of his head. Clearly, he is deaf if he thinks Iijima is in any way as talented as I am, so why not make him lose his sight as well as his hearing?

**Seto:** Shove him into a tiny cupboard, because, guess what, he is shorter than me. How dare he think that we're anywhere near the same height!

He slammed the book shut, and held his violin case close in case of any further incidents. Please, god, just let this day end already.

As the last class of the day passed uneventfully, Toshinori was hopeful the horrors of today had finally come to a conclusion. He even dared to draw a sigh of relief, as the bell would ring in less than five minutes. As the teacher, Mr Tachibana, was wrapping up their history lesson, he even seemed inclined to let them leave a little early. Upon realizing this, class representative Yukie put her hand up.  
"Mr Tachibana? May I have the last five minutes?" she asked cheerfully. When the teacher agreed, she got up to her feet. Toshinori scowled at her, still angry at her for trying to coerce him into being the warm-up for Shuya.  
"Everyone! I have been in the process of planning a very special benefit for our upcoming Winter dance. I will work on getting more detailed information when we have prepared everything, but something there was never any doubt about, was that our very own Shuya Nanahara will of course be performing something for us!"   
Shuya's friends as well as some of the girls cheered for this. Yukie smiled approvingly as she continued.  
"Well, if we have some time, Nanahara promised me we could hear a small preview for his show at the end of the day. Which means... Now, right?" she asked teasingly, clearly putting Shuya on the spot. Shuya himself looked a bit embarrassed but laughed regardless.  
"Oh, jeez, Miss Representative. You're really doing this to me?" he asked, patting the guitar case he had next to him. He had band practice after class, and really had no excuse ready not to do this. Shinji, who was seated behind him, smirked. "You won't deny us the show by the best musical artist in class, will you? And remember, you're only the best because I've never bothered to pick up an instrument yet," he joked.  
  
When Yukie announced that Shuya would be giving a preview of his music for the Winter dance, Toshinori’s eyes widened in horror. Of course, why not? The icing on top of the cake of this godawful day would be to listen to his racket. Hearing Shinji's comment made him turn to the boy in horror. It was not a shock to hear that such a vulgar womanizer thought that Shuya's vulgar rock constituted as good music, but still, to dismiss Toshinori's beautiful music so easily? _You vulgar prick,_ he thought. Then, as if in preparation for Shuya's racket, he plugged his fingers in his ears, trying to remain subtle and hoping no one would notice. Shuya made his way to the wrong of the class, smiling to them.   
"I can see everyone's excited, huh?" he commented with a smile, noticing Toshinori's reaction. He did not blame the boy; their taste was pretty different, that much was certain. He got his acoustic guitar out, promptly tuning it. When Toshinori made eye contact with Shuya, he slightly removed his fingers from his ears, but scowled as he heard Shuya's seemingly passive-aggressive comment  
"I know everyone wanna go home, and I don't reaally wanna do this either - Thanks, Utsumi-, so I'll be quick!" he grinned.   
Shinji chuckled. "Please. You love the attention," he said with a wink.  
"And we love giving it to you," Yukie chimed in playfully.

Shuya’s humble act didn't fool Toshinori at all- he knew that vulgar rockstar loved the attentio and judging by how excited a number of his classmates looked, they loved watching him play. _Vulgar rabble! Don't any of you have taste?!  
_ "Make this quick," he muttered. _  
_Shuya could not play anything prohibited, of course, in the middle of class in front of their teacher. Instead, he played a slower song. It was still American, and the girls still looked like they were about to drool, while his braindead friends did stupid dance moves. Most of the classmates looked interested or even impressed with his guitar skills and singing. He had a certain charisma, and when he got lost in the music, it seemed to put people under some kind of spell. He finished after a couple of minutes, to the sound of excited applause. Smiling sheepishly, Shuya did a little bow to the class. _  
_"Thanks, thanks. It'll be a little different at the benefit. Anyway, Utsumi were thinking next Friday, right? Hope everyone can make it," he said. _  
_Everyone prepared to leave, and Shinji got up too, joining Shuya along with Yoshitoki and Yutaka. _  
_"Good job, man. That will be a great way to end the show. The only thing that would make it better would be if I got shirtless and showed off the goods," he laughed confidently, as the boys headed toward the door.

Toshinori had been scowling all the way through Shuya’s performance, especially upon seeing the reactions of his classmates. This was all the proof he needed that his classmates were brainless fools- all they needed was Shuya's music to turn them into zombies. But of course, hardly any of them would be this enthusiastic to hear my music, he thought. Once Shuya was finished with his piece, Toshinori got up, storming towards the door. He fumbled in his bag for his Vulgar Note, not paying any attention to what his vulgar classmates were saying as they left the building. Once he found a spot to write, he began his final entry.

**VULGAR NOTE ENTRY TWELVE:**  
Shuya Nanahara, Shinji Mimura

**CRIME:** Forced to listen to vulgar rock.

**PUNISHMENT:**

**Nanahara:** Nothing less than death would satisfy me for punishing Nanahara. First of all, he would be reported to the authorities for his America-loving ways, where he would then be sent to a labour camp. Once he's weak enough, I will send all his vulgar fangirls to look at the weak, miserable wimp he's become. Then, once he's humiliated enough, I will perform one final piece for him on the violin before shooting him in the head.

**Mimura:** Feed him and feed him and feed him until he's fat and disgusting. With his slow metabolism, he will no longer be the "third man", and no girls will lust over his body. I'm sure nothing would crush him more than no longer being able to be a vulgar manwhore.

He closed the book. _That's it. All my classmates. Oh, how wonderful it would be to carry out these punishments_ , he thought.

It was now 3 PM and the day had officially ended. His classmates were starting to disperse in different directions, heading home for the day. Shinji and his group were followed by the Neutral girls, and Chisato and Yuka seemed to be giggling as they checked out the infamous Third Man. How trashy. He noted that the Kiriyama Family had disappeared behind to the back of the school; no doubt to set in motion whatever illegal activities they had been planning earlier. Typical delinquent scum.  
Toshinori did however smile with some satisfaction as he saw Shogo heading out pf the building too, wearing a pink t-shirt Fumiyo and Yuko had dug up for him from the Lost and Found box earlier. It was most unflattering. And when Kayoko, no doubt distracted in thoughts of her ridiculous crush , walked straight into a street pole, he even managed to snicker. Maybe karma was about to really come around, after all.

" _Aha!_ " He heard a high-pitched, excited voice from right behind him. It was so close he could feel the breath on his neck. If he had turned around, he would see Mizuho smile triumphantly. "Space amphibian. I finally found you..."


End file.
